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Iron Deficiency Treatment in Patients with Heart Failure

Ewa A Jankowska1,2, Marcin Drozd3,4, Piotr Ponikowski4,5

  • 1Laboratory for Applied Research on Cardiovascular System, Department of Heart Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. ewa.jankowska@umed.wroc.pl.

Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology
|April 14, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Iron deficiency (ID) is a common issue in heart failure (HF) patients. Intravenous iron effectively replenishes iron stores, improving HF symptoms and quality of life.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Hematology
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Iron deficiency (ID) is a significant global health concern, linked to disability and mortality.
  • ID is a frequent and serious comorbidity in heart failure (HF) patients, irrespective of anemia status.
  • Evidence from clinical trials (FAIR-HF, CONFIRM-HF) and epidemiology highlights ID as a key therapeutic target in symptomatic HF with LVEF ≤45%.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the role of iron deficiency as a therapeutic target in heart failure.
  • To assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous iron supplementation in heart failure patients.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical trials, including FAIR-HF and CONFIRM-HF.
  • Analysis of epidemiological data on iron deficiency in heart failure.
  • Evaluation of intravenous iron supplementation for iron repletion.

Main Results:

  • Intravenous iron supplementation is safe and effective for iron repletion.
  • Treatment with intravenous iron improves clinical status, exercise capacity, and quality of life in HF patients.
  • Ongoing trials investigate the potential of this therapy to reduce HF hospitalizations and cardiovascular death.

Conclusions:

  • Iron deficiency is a critical therapeutic target in symptomatic heart failure patients.
  • Intravenous iron supplementation offers significant benefits for heart failure management.
  • Further research is underway to confirm the long-term impact of intravenous iron on HF outcomes.

Keywords:
Ferric carboxymaltoseFerritinHeart failureHepcidinIntravenous ironIron deficiencyIron therapyTransferrin saturation soluble transferrin receptor

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